Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Ukraine is trying to change the situation on the battlefield instead of preparing for negotiations. Lavrov also accused European countries of blocking peace efforts.
US Democratic senators have urged Donald Trump not to recall nearly 30 career ambassadors, warning of a threat to national security. They believe this would create a vacuum that Russia and China would fill, leaving more than 100 embassies without leadership.
Russian generals regularly submit reports to Putin with inflated Ukrainian losses and downplayed Russian failures. Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov has strengthened his position despite criticism.
The United Kingdom will not unilaterally use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, as it had planned to do so jointly with partners. This comes after a similar EU plan failed due to legal and political obstacles.
Volkswagen is ceasing production at its Dresden plant from December 16, marking the company's first plant closure in Germany in 88 years. The reasons are declining demand in China and Europe, as well as the impact of US tariffs.
British banks oppose using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. They fear lawsuits from Russia and potential financial losses without state guarantees.
The latest draft peace agreement on Ukraine, discussed by US and Ukrainian officials with the support of Brussels, envisages Ukraine's accession to the EU by January 1, 2027. This could force Brussels to reconsider the accession process for new members due to the tight deadlines.
EU countries intend to accelerate a decision on immobilizing up to 210 billion euros of Russian sovereign assets. This will allow them to bypass Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban before next week's summit.
France is under pressure to finance Ukraine using €18 billion in Russian sovereign assets, whose location Paris has concealed for over two years. These assets, mostly immobilized in private banks, represent the second-largest accumulation of frozen Russian central bank assets in Europe.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting takes place amid fears that the US may pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Russia.
The European Commission will open an antitrust procedure regarding the use of artificial intelligence in Meta-owned WhatsApp. The investigation will focus on the competitive implications of integrating Meta's AI assistant into the messenger.
European low-cost airlines, including Wizz Air and Ryanair, plan to resume flights to Ukraine after a peace agreement is signed, predicting a boom in "catastrophe tourism" and the return of people. Wizz Air plans to base 15 aircraft within two years, and Ryanair could resume services two weeks after an agreement.
Stephen Witt's book "The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip" has won the Financial Times' Business Book of the Year 2025 award. It tells the story of Nvidia's evolution and the journey of its founder, Jensen Huang.
Shares of American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency mining company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, fell by almost 40%, losing about $1 billion in market capitalization. Eric Trump attributed the decline to investors' ability to lock in profits after the share lock-up period ended.
The European Central Bank has rejected participation in the European Commission's proposal to use frozen Russian assets. This complicates the attraction of a loan secured by the immobilized assets of the Russian central bank.
Romania will have to independently deter the enemy in case of a Russian invasion; NATO troops will only be able to help after several weeks. This was revealed by military exercises in Cincu, which focused on ground combat.
The reason is Driscoll's ambition, who could claim Hagseth's position.
According to a journalist from The Economist, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, is heading to the United States, possibly as the leader of the negotiation process. Earlier, Rustem Umerov and Serhiy Kyslytsia traveled to the US to discuss a peace plan.
Ukrainian officials Rustem Umerov and Serhiy Kyslytsia have traveled to the US to discuss a peace plan. They will meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Florida.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov will take part in negotiations with Donald Trump's envoy, Scott Witkoff, and the US delegation. Umerov will go to Miami instead of Andriy Yermak, who was dismissed from the post of Head of the Presidential Office and had previously planned the trip.
Donald Trump has involved his son-in-law Jared Kushner in promoting a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Kushner, who previously worked on normalizing Israel's relations with Arab countries, participated in negotiations in Geneva.
According to the depository's management, this could scare investors in European government debt and lead to countermeasures from the Russian side.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief diplomat, stated the need to limit the size of the Russian army and its military budget. This is to prevent further military conflicts, avoiding the trap Russia is setting regarding limiting the Ukrainian army.
A Ukrainian official said after talks in Geneva that Kyiv supports the essence of the framework peace agreement. However, some sensitive issues remain subject to discussion between the US and Ukrainian presidents, and final agreements have not yet been reached.
Ukraine has tentatively agreed with the US to limit the size of its Armed Forces to 800,000 servicemen. However, territorial policy and security guarantee mechanisms remain unresolved issues.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held successful talks with Russian officials in the UAE. Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov is also in Abu Dhabi for meetings.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya reported that copies of the peace agreement were taken from all participants in the Geneva negotiations, except for the heads of delegations. This was done to prevent information leaks, while national security advisers made progress in reducing the plan to key points.
The initial 28-point US peace plan between Ukraine and Russia was reduced to 19 points following negotiations on Sunday. European leaders expressed concerns about some parts of the plan, particularly the demands for sanctions against Moscow and the freezing of Russian sovereign assets.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Finland are holding a video call. This is happening against the backdrop of ongoing peace plan negotiations in Geneva.
European officials fear that Donald Trump may cease support for Ukraine. Meetings are scheduled next week between France, Germany, and Great Britain, as well as other countries, to discuss possible changes to the US plan.
